Jackie Odhiambo is dedicated to empowering Kenyan widows. Her initiatives focus on leadership development, health education, access to justice, and economic transformation programs.
Jackie Odhiambo is the Founder and Executive Director of Nyanam Widows Rising, a Kenyan non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering widows. Her story began in western Kenya, where she was raised by her mother, aunt, and grandmother after losing her father at age eleven.
All three women were widows, and through them, Odhiambo witnessed the loneliness, social stigma, and financial hardship that widowhood often brings in African societies. Yet she also saw extraordinary strength in watching those women keep their families together despite being treated as if they no longer belonged.
Those early experiences later shaped Odhiambo’s life and eventually inspired her to build a movement for widows’ empowerment across Kenya.
Odhiambo, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Williams College in the United States and a Master of Science in International Public Health from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom, returned to her home country to contribute to community development initiatives.
However, Jeckie Odhiambo was deeply concerned by a particular issue. In every initiative joined, widows were consistently excluded, sometimes even blamed when problems arose.
In 2017, a widow sought her help, and she listened. Odhiambo then invited others to share their experiences, and over eighty (80) widows responded. Their collective pain was immense, leading to that gathering becoming the foundation of Nyanam Widows Rising, the organisation she officially established in 2019.
“Nyanam”, meaning “Daughter of the Lake” in Luo, the organisation was created to help widows rebuild their lives with dignity and leadership. Starting with those first eighty women, Odhiambo has expanded the organisation to reach more than 3,000 widows across Kenya. Its programs are built around leadership, health, livelihoods, justice, and youth development.
Through widow-to-widow leadership circles, women gain confidence and learn to lead social change in their communities. The livelihoods program supports them to grow small businesses and achieve financial independence, while the health program addresses mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing, recognising that healing must go beyond economic aid.
Justice is also central to Nyanam’s work. The organisation advocates for widows’ land and inheritance rights, raises awareness of discriminatory cultural practices, and works with local leaders to reform attitudes. Odhiambo’s approach, rooted in restorative justice, seeks to empower widows economically and also to change how society views them. Her initiatives have reduced self-stigma, restored dignity, and improved social inclusion for thousands of widows.
At the same time, Odhiambo’s work extends into research and policy. Through this, she bridges academia and grassroots action, ensuring that the realities of widows shape both community programs and national discussions.
Many of the women from the Jeckie Odhiambo-led organisation are now local leaders, entrepreneurs, and advocates. Some of their children also participate in youth mentorship and education programs that break intergenerational cycles of poverty. Communities that once marginalised widows are now engaging them as partners in development.
